Probable Interaction Between Warfarin and Inhaled and Oral Administration of Cannabis.

OBJECTIVE: To report a probable interaction between warfarin and edible cannabis that resulted in an elevated international normalized ratio (INR) without bleeding complications. Case Summary: A 35-year-old Middle Eastern male on warfarin long term with an INR goal of 2.5 (accepted range: 2.0-3.0). The patient has generally been stable on warfarin 10 mg daily from 2010 to 2018, until INR suddenly increased to 7.2 following 1 month of edible cannabis ingestion and cannabis smoking. Patient denied any signs and symptoms of bleeding. No other reasonable causes of the elevation in INR were apparent. The patient was advised to hold 2 doses of warfarin and discontinue cannabis use. The INR dropped below 4 upon discontinuation of cannabis with dose adjustments to warfarin. DISCUSSION: The elevation in INR can be explained by the inhibition of CYP2C9 by cannabis use causing decreased metabolism of warfarin. The interaction between warfarin and cannabis was determined to be probable using the Horn Drug Interaction Probability Scale. CONCLUSIONS: There are no previous reports of interactions between edible cannabis and warfarin, with very few case reports describing the interaction with other forms of cannabis. Close monitoring of INR in patients with concomitant cannabis is recommended for proper warfarin management.

Advancing Pharmacist Collaborative Care within Academic Health Systems.

INTRODUCTION: The scope of pharmacy practice has evolved over the last few decades to focus on the optimization of medication therapy. Despite this positive impact, the lack of reimbursement remains a significant barrier to the implementation of innovative pharmacist practice models. SUMMARY: We describe the successful development, implementation and outcomes of three types of pharmacist collaborative care models: (1) a pharmacist with physician oversight, (2) pharmacist-interprofessional teams and (3) physician-pharmacist teams. The outcome measurement of these pharmacist care models varied from the design phase to patient volume measurement and to comprehensive quality dashboards. All of these practice models have been successfully funded by affiliated health systems or grants. CONCLUSIONS: The expansion of pharmacist services delivered by clinical faculty has several benefits to affiliated health systems: (1) significant improvements in patient care quality, (2) access to experts in specialty areas, and (3) the dissemination of outcomes with national and international recognition, increasing the visibility of the health system.

Pharmacist training in suicide prevention.

OBJECTIVE: Suicide in the United States is a major preventable public health problem. Pharmacists need to be educated on suicide prevention strategies so that they can increase their own awareness and identify patients at-risk. A training program for pharmacists was used to provide skills necessary to recognize a crisis and the warning signs of suicide. The program's effect on the participant's general perception, self-efficacy, and attitude towards suicide prevention was examined. SETTING: Various academic, health care, and professional meetings throughout San Diego County. PRACTICE INNOVATION: First Question, Persuade, and Refer training program targeting pharmacists. EVALUATION: A self-administered presurvey, postsurvey and, Program Outcome Evaluation were given to participants of the suicide training program. Items included demographics, general perception, self-efficacy, and attitude toward suicide prevention. Descriptive statistics were used to describe participants' demographics. t tests were used to compare general perception, attitudes, and self-efficacy scores between pretest and post-program evaluation survey responses. Nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank analyses for matched pairs were used to compare survey responses that asked about attitudes before and after trainings. Regression analyses were conducted to assess factors associated with general perception, self-efficacy, and attitudes. RESULTS: Participants were more likely to update knowledge after training and reported more confidence to make an intervention for a patient at risk for suicide. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that a suicide prevention training program helped pharmacist respondents build confidence in several self-efficacy areas relating to detection of suicide signs, response to patients with suicidal thoughts, reassurance for patients, and provision of resources and referrals.

An Overview of Concentrated Insulin Products.

IN BRIEF This article provides a summary of the use of available concentrated insulins in the outpatient treatment of patients with diabetes. Concentrated insulins work through the same mechanisms as other insulin products. They vary from each other in concentrations and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics profiles but are each similar to their U-100 concentration counterparts. Patient education is important to minimize errors and the risk of hypoglycemia when using these insulin formulations.

An evidence-based and practical approach to using Bydureon™ in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 agonists are one of the newer classes of medications for use in type 2 diabetes. There are currently three GLP-1 agonists on the market: exenatide twice daily, liraglutide, and exenatide extended release (ER). Exenatide ER is a new weekly formulation of exenatide. Exenatide ER reduces glycosylated hemoglobin by 1.6%, with fewer gastrointestinal side effects compared with twice-daily exenatide. Like other GLP-1 agonists, exenatide ER can be used in combination with metformin, sulfonylureas, or thiazolidinediones. Patients should be assessed for risk of pancreatitis and renal impairment. Education about proper administration technique is vital with the novel delivery system. Prescribers may also consider the use of exenatide ER to improve medication adherence in patients who have successfully tolerated exenatide twice daily or use in patients who have gastrointestinal side effects with exenatide twice daily. Exenatide is a reasonable option that can be added to the regimen of a patient with type 2 diabetes.